The government's Eat Out to Help Out has dished up more than 69,000 meals in our area during the entirety of the scheme.

Hitchin Nub News has looked into Treasury figures on Rishi Sunak's initiative intended to get people back into restaurants in towns and cities across the country, including Hitchin.

Chancellor Sunak offered people eating at a participating outlet Monday to Wednesday during the month of August a state-funded 50 per cent discount on food and soft drinks to a maximum of £10, with restaurants claiming the money back from the government.

The government measures their Eat Out to Help Out statistics by parliamentary constituency, so the figures we have are for Hitchin and Harpenden, which is the seat held by Conservative MP Bim Afolami.

In Bim's constituency, which includes the town of Hitchin and surrounding areas, we found that 113 restaurants, cafes, coffee houses, pubs and eateries signed up to the project - with more than 69,000 meals claimed for.

The total discount claimed by people eating out in our area came to £436,000 - a figure that will be allocated from government coffers to businesses on the scheme.

Speaking to Hitchin Nub News Mr Afolami said: "I am delighted that 69, 000 diners benefited from the Eat Out to Help Out Scheme in Hitchin & Harpenden.

"This was a great initiative by the chancellor and the Treasury which has been extremely beneficial in supporting our High Streets and allowing our local restaurants, cafes, and pubs to get back on their feet."

Surprisingly, given that there was a maximum of £10 per person to be claimed back per visit, the average claimed per meal in our constituency came to £6.30.

However, data from OpenTable shows that nationally, bookings increased by an average of 52 per cent on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays throughout the whole of August, compared to the same days in 2019.

Hitchin Nub News spoke about the scheme with Fabio Vincenti, who owns Fabio's Gelato on Hermitage Road in the town.

"We signed up for the last two weeks when the weather was really bad," he said, adding: "But under Eat Out to Help Out we saw a good increase - including Bank Holiday Monday, which was the last day of the scheme.

"The scheme certainly helped us."

Concerns over Eat Out to Help Out

The Treasury is set to support the hospitality industry with a temporary discount to VAT - from 20 per cent to 5 per cent, until January next year – in a move which will help boost businesses.

However, not everyone thought the scheme was a success.

A number of Hitchin diners spoke to Nub News to express their frustration at not being able to get a table between Mondays and Wednesdays in Hitchin, during the initiative.

While others who did sample restaurants during the scheme said that they felt the service in their favourite places was not as good as it normally was - due to the scheme's popularity, which meant hard-pressed staff were far busier than they would normally have been.

A business on the scheme spoke to Hitchin Nub News under condition of anonymity.

"While the scheme saw a large number of people eat at restaurants in Hitchin, was the increase in trade simply moving custom from the weekends to earlier in the week?

"Also, it caused a few issues for the businesses that simply didn't - or couldn't - cater for the extra numbers by refusing - or being unable - to pay more staff to cope with the extra custom.

"It would be interesting to see how the scheme would work in say, October - rather than the summer when people may be on holiday, or have more time on their hands to be able to eat out on Mondays."

If you would like to share your opinion on Eat Out to Help Out in Hitchin - or if you are a restaurant that intends to continue offering discounts then get in touch.